Sarah Cressall is the Founder and Managing Director of The Creation Station

Sarah Cressall is the Founder and Managing Director of The Creation Station and talks to us about the opportunities that the franchise has to offer:

Who are typical The Creation Station franchisees in terms of their circumstances, experience of situations and how they might balance running a business around other commitments?

We award our franchise to people who share our core values;

Typically our franchise owners want flexibility and the freedom to choose the working hours to run their own successful business. Typically but not always our franchise owners are parents, and are looking for a second income for their family.

Our franchise owners come from a a range of backgrounds including solicitors, Human resources managers, teachers, stay at home mums or dads, graphic artists, retail managers and most recently a Crime Scene investigator. So a wide range of background but all with the desire and drive to run a successful, flexible and fun business.

What kind of skills are required, in an individual, to run your franchised business?

The skills required are first a foremost being a people person! You have to friendly and approachable and enjoy being with children and adults. You also have to be proactive, adaptable and have a positive attitude and outlook on life.

Just so you know, you don’t have to be creative, and you don’t need any experience of working with children, or teaching as we provide the training and all the plans and resources to help you run your business.

What are the typical benefits sought and gained by franchisees?

Franchise owners have said that they feel more empowered and their confidence has grown. Many say they have made lots of new friends and love being the go to person for creative fun in the area.

We talk a lot about goals in our business and people have set and achieved not just work goals but also personal goals as well.

These have included taking their children to and from school every day, being in control of their working hours, paying for fantastic holidays.

Most of our franchise owners have never ran a business before, so there is a lot training, hand – holding and support available .

This includes a dedicated support team at Creation hub, as well as Business development managers who also run their own Creation Station business, templates for all business needs and press releases, weekly top tip newsletters, Treasure Trove or resources , exclusive trade account on Art & Crafts supplies, all tried and tested session plans, national conference and much more.

We gained the award for the best franchise marketing support which is a testament to our commitment to support franchise owners.

How much scope is there for opening new franchises in respect to existing UK coverage and growing market potential?

We have 100 V.I.P ( Very Inspirational People ) Creation Station franchise owners across the UK. Their exclusive territory size depends on the size of the franchise they invested. Due to demand we do still have areas that we are looking to award a Creation Station franchise.

What roles would the franchisee take in the running of a franchise in this industry sector?

Our franchise owners run the award winning art & crafts classes, parties and events in their own area- they choose their hours and decide how many classes they want to run to fit around their own commitments. Those with children often take their own children to their classes which sees a significant saving on child-care costs.

As their business grows there is scope to take on staff. For the out of school cubs this can be developed into a management franchise where the franchise owners employs others to run the out of school clubs. We help with all aspects of employment when the time is right.

The key benefits of investing in a Creation Station franchise are:

1. National brand - You are part of a brand that that positively promotes the benefits and values of your services.
   
   
2. Done for you - There is so much to do when setting up by yourself, from company incorporation, investing in a well optimised web site, ensuring reliable cost effective product supply with safety data and tried and tested activities.  Creation Station franchise owners have their web pages set up, and personalised to them. As part of a larger company the site it is optimised to be found locally. Business facebook pages, help with twitter and blog resources are all organised and done for.
   
   
3. Tried & Tested - You gain the benefit of al he developments since 2002. Session plans with extension ideas and low cost high value products are developed and tested and available to you. All the templates you need for your business including terms and conditions, health and safety, risk assessments and all policies are all done for you.
   
   
4. Trust - Our customers are trusting us with the most important people in their lives and we take this very seriously. They will research us and find very positive feedback from thousands of people right across the UK. This can take a long time to establish as a stand alone venture.
   
   
5. Partners - A the leading arts & crats activity company in the UK we are able to work with some of the well know brand in the UK, this includes running workshops for Duplo, Aardman, Sony, Bugaboo, and , appearing on Sky TV, Channel 4, BBC, with many requests for local radio. This all helps support our franchise owners position themselves as the go to people for creative activities in their area.
   
   
6. Ongoing Support - Franchise owners receive comprehensive training that covers operational, business and marketing, plus hand holding the first three months, After this you still keep connected with the the Creative hub team and also with other experienced franchise owners to help and support you. This level of expertise an experience is not available when you start up as a standalone venture.  As your business grows you have help with reviewing your plans and goals with people who know you and your business and are committed to help you.  This means you don’t have to spend night after night writing plans sourcing products and safety sheets. It also means you can get up and running much quicker and start making a profit sooner as well.

What advice would you pass on to people exploring setting up a franchise?

Firstly I would understand why you are looking to run your own business? What are you key drivers and what is most important to you.

Secondly, you will be working, probably, work harder running your business that in any other previous job, so think about the sector that you enjoy working in and
Check out what the day to day activities will involve, will it give you what you are looking for?

Finally,  do your research, what can you find out about them online? Are they easy to find do they have a good digital presence – if you can’t find them easier neither will you prospective customers? Once you have identified the franchises that you feel could work, get their info pack and go along to a discovery event and meet them. Bring your partner or a friend so you can have someone else that you trust to give you their perspective as well.

Franchising is a two way relationship you have to feel confident that they have the systems and capacity to support you and to help you grow your business.

To find out more about starting your own The Creation Station franchise just click below

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